blameable or no, his confcience cannot poffibly direct him to condemn them. Hence have likewise arifen those mistakes about what is ufually called liberty of confcience ; which, properly speaking, is no more than a liberty of knowing our own thoughts; which liberty no one can take from us. But those words have obtained quite different meanings. Liberty of confcience is now a-days not only understood to be the liberty of believing what men please, but also of endeavouring to propagate that belief as much as they can, and to overthrow the faith which the laws have already established, and to be rewarded by the public for those wicked endeavours: and this is the liberty of confcience which the fanatics are now, openly in the face of the world, endeavouring at with their utmoft application. At the fame time it cannot but be observed, that those very perfons, who, under pretence of a public fpirit, and tenderness towards their Christian brethren, are so zealous for fuch a liberty of confcience as this, are of all others the least tender to those who differ from them in the smallest point relating to government; and I wish I could not fay, that the majesty of the living God may be offended with more fecurity than the memory of a dead prince. But the wisdom of the world at prefent feems to agree with that of the Heathen emperor, who faid, If the gods were offended, it was their own concern, and they were able to vindicate themselves.

BUT altho' confcience hath been abufed to those wicked purposes which I have already related, yet a due regard to the directions it plainly gives us, as well as to its accufations, reproaches, and advices, would be of the greatest use to mankind, both for their prefent welfare and future happiness.

THEREFORE my difcourfe at this time fhall be directed to prove to you, that there is no folid firm foundation for virtue, but on a confcience which is guided by religion.

In order to this, I fhall first fhew you the weakness and uncertainty of two falfe principles, which many people fet up in the place of confcience for a guide to their actions.

THE firft of thefe principles is what the world usually calls moral bonefly. There are fome people who appear very indifferent

indifferent as to religion, and yet have the repute of being juft and fair in their dealings; and these are generally known by the character of good moral men. But now, if you look into the grounds and the motives of fuch a man's actions, you fhall find them to be no other than his own ease and intereft. For example, you trufta - moral man with your money in the way of trade, you trust another with the defence of your caufe at law; and perhaps they both deal juftly with you. Why? not from any regard they have for juftice, but because their fortune depends upon their credit, and a stain of open public dishonesty must be to their difadvantage. But, let it confift with fuch a man's intereft and fafety to wrong you, and then it will be impoffible you can have any hold upon him; because there is nothing left to give him a check, or to put in the balance against his profit. For, if he hath nothing to govern himself by but the opinion of the world, as long as he can conceal his injuftice from the world, he thinks he is fafe.

BESIDES, it is found by experience, that those men who fet up for morality, without regard to religion, are generally virtuous but in part: they will be juft in their dealings between man and man; but, if they find themfelves difpofed to pride, luft, intemperance, or avarice, they do not think their morality concerned to check them in any of these vices; because it is the great rule of fuch men, that they may lawfully follow the dictates of nature, where-ever their fafety, health, and fortune are not injured. So that, upon the whole, there is hardly one vice which a mere moral man may not upon fome occafions allow himself to practise.

THE other falfe principle which fome men set up in the place of confcience to be their director in life, is what those who pretend to it call honour.

. THIS word is often made the fanction of an oath: it is reckoned a great commendation to be a man of ftrict honour; and it is commonly understood, that a man of honour can never be guilty of a bafe action. This is ufually the ftyle of military men, of perfons with titles, and of others who pretend to birth and quality. It is true indeed, that in antient times it was univerfally understood, that honour was the reward of

virtue ;

virtue; but, if fuch honour as is now-a-days going will not permit a man to do a base action, it must be allowed, there are very few fuch things as bafe actions in nature. No man of honour, as that word is ufually understood, did ever pretend, that his honour obliged him to be chafte or temperate, to pay his creditors, to be ufeful to his country, to do good to mankind, to endeavour to be wife or learned, to regard his word, his promife, or his oath or if he hath any of these virtues, they were never learned in the catechifm of honour; which contains but two precepts; the punctual payment of debts contracted at play, and the right understanding the feveral degrees of an affront, in order to revenge it by the death of an adversary.

BUT fuppofe this principle of honour, which fome men so much boaft of, did really produce more virtues than it ever pretended to; yet, fince the very being of that honour depended upon the breath, the opinion, or the fancy of the people, the virtues derived from it could be of no long or certain duration. For example, fuppofe a man, from a principle of honour, fhould refolve to be juft, or chaste, or temperate, and yet the cenfuring world should take a humour of refufing him those characters, he would then think the obligation at an end. Or, on the other fide, if he thought he could gain honour by the falfeft and vileft action (which is a cafe that very often happens), he would then make no fcruple to perform it. And God knows, it would be an unhappy state, to have the religion, the liberty, or the property of a people lodged in fuch hands; which, however, hath been too often the case.

WHAT I have faid upon this principle of honour, may perhaps be thought of fmall concernment to moft of you who are my hearers: however, a caution was not altogether unneceffary; fince there is nothing by which not only the vulgar, but the honeft tradefman hath been fo much deceived, as this infamous pretence to honour in too many of their betters.

HAVING thus fhewn you the weakness and uncertainty of thofe principles which fome men fet up in the place of confcience to direct them in their actions, I shall now endeavour to prove to you, that there is no folid, firm VOL. I. foundation

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foundation of virtue, but in a confcience directed by the principles of religion.

THERE is no way of judging how far we may depend upon the actions of men, otherwife than by knowing the motives, and grounds, and causes of them; and if the motives of our actions be not refolved and determined into the law of God, they will be precarious and uncertain, and liable to perpetual changes. I will fhew you what I mean, by an example. Suppofe a man thinks it his duty to obey his parents, because reason tells him fo, because he is obliged by gratitude, and becaufe the laws of his country command him to do fo: if he ftops here, his parents can have no lafting fecurity; for an occafion may happen, wherein it may be extremely his intereft to be difobedient, and where the laws of the land can lay no hold upon him: therefore, before fuch a man can fafely be trufted, he muft proceed farther, and confider that his reafon is the gift of God; that God commanded him to be obedient to the laws, and did, moreover, in a particular manner, injoin him to be dutiful to his parents; after which, if he lays due weight upon those confiderations, he will probably continue in his duty to the end of his life; because no earthly interest can ever come in competition to balance the danger of offending his Creator, or the happiness of pleafing him. And of all this his confcience will certainly inform him, if he hath any regard to religion.

Secondly, Fear and hope are the two greateft natural motives of all mens actions. But neither of these pasfions will ever put us in the way of virtue, unless they be directed by confcience. For, altho' virtuous men do fometimes accidentally make their way to preferment, yet the world is fo corrupted, that no man can reasonably hope to be rewarded in it, merely upon account of his virtue. And confequently the fear of punishment in this life will preferve men from very few vices; fince fome of the blackest and bafeft do often prove the fureft fteps to favour; fuch as ingratitude, hypocrify, treachery, malice, fubornation, atheism, and many more, which human laws do little concern themfelves about. But when confcience placeth before us the hopes of everlasting happiness, and the fears of e

verlasting

verlafting mifery, as the reward and punishment of our good or evil actions, our reafon can find no way to avoid the force of fuch an argument, otherwife than by running into infidelity.

Laftly, Confcience will direct us to love God, and to put our whole trust and confidence in him. Our love of God will infpire us with a deteftation for fin, as what is of all things moft contrary to his divine nature; and, if we have an entire confidence in him, that will enable us to fubdue and despise all the allurements of the world.

IT may here be objected, If confcience be fo fure a director to us Chriftians in the conduct of our lives, how comes it to pass, that the antient Heathens, who had no other lights but thofe of nature and reason, should fo far exceed us in all manner of virtue, as plainly appears by many examples they have left on record ?

To which it may be answered: First, those Heathens were extremely ftrict and exact in the education of their children: whereas, among us, this care is fo much laid afide, that the more God has blessed any man with eftate or quality, juft fo much the lefs in proportion is the care he takes in the education of his children, and particularly of that child which is to inherit his fortune; of which the effects are visible enough among the great ones of the world. Again, thofe Heathens did, in a particular manner, inftil the principle into their children of loving their country; which is fo far otherwife now-a-days, that of the feveral parties among us, there is none of them that seem to have fo much as heard whether there be fuch a virtue in the world; as plainly appears by their practices, and especially when they are placed in those stations where they can only have opportunity of fhewing it. Laftly, the moft confiderable among the Heathens did generally believe rewards and punishments in a life to come; which is the great principle for confcience to work upon: whereas too many of those who would be thought the most confiderable among us, do, both by their practices and their difcourfes, plainly affirm, that they believe nothing at all of the matter.

WHEREFORE, fince it hath manifeftly appeared, that a Cc 2 religious